The Horror of the Moon
by LovecraftFan
Summary: When Chibiusa suddenly disappears and a mysterious cult moves in, the Senshi are forced to face unimaginable horrors as they try to uncover the mystery of the cult and Chibiusa's disappearance.
1. Dreams of the Nuclear Chaos

Disclaimer: The story is my only original idea, all characters belong to their respective owners and copyright holders and is not in anyway meant to be used for profit.

Author's Note: All reviews and constructive criticism are welcome, any flaming or hateful bile will be thrown into Mount Yaddith-Gho.

* * *

Ami arose from bed in the dead of night. Her room was dark and silent, and yet she felt some presence calling out to her, beckoning her. She got out of bed and walked up to the window, peering out to see the clear night sky and faded stars. She then opened the window, seemingly without reason. Ami poked her head out, looking deeply into the night sky.

Suddenly a stream of violet midnight, glittering with dust of gold and noiseless infinity swirled around her and wafted her away without touching her body. The stream lifted her out the window and into the sky, the stars becoming clearer as she approached. She looked back to see her condominium shrinking while she rose, and soon it was but a mere speck compared to the rest of Tokyo. It wasn't long before even Tokyo became a small, faint light on the rest of the world.

Ami continued to rise, seeing the Earth grow smaller and smaller as she passed the moon, both becoming a small blot once the sun came into view. The stream seemed to be carrying her at an incredible pace as the sun began to dwindle, becoming an indistinct glimmer of light among the stars in no time. Ami then felt a sense of awe and wonder as all the stars, and soon the galaxy, came into view. The fact that so many stars, and possibly planets, could exist in such an infinite void filled her heart with enthrallment. And yet, she couldn't help but feel a slight pang of fear tug at the back of her mind. A fear that, in comparison to the rest of the cosmos, the Earth and its people were insignificant.

This sense of fear and a new sense of dread only grew as the galaxies came into view, but soon began to grow more and more distant while a creeping darkness overtook her vision. The darkness blocked out the galaxies and Ami was consumed with anxiety and dread as her ears were suddenly assaulted by a faint sound that only seemed to get louder as she felt a massive presence behind her. The weak noise soon gave way to the thin, monotonous whine of accursed flutes and the maddening beating of vile drums, which caused her body to tremble and convulse and her heart to race. As the droning piping and riling beat continued to grow in pitch, she felt the horrible presence grow closer. Ami started to turn in order to look upon the blasphemous horror, but before she could do so, the abominable music silenced and she heard one name that shook her to her core…

"_Azathoth."_

* * *

Ami woke up in a cold sweat and panting hard, her heart racing from the nightmare she had just had. She sat up and looked at her clock, which read 4:44 AM. She yawned and stretched before getting out of bed, still shaking a little from the experience. She managed to feel her way through the darkness and to the light switch, turning it on as she exited her room. Her home was silent, and she wasn't sure whether her mother was still asleep or if she was at work. Because of this uncertainty, she quietly tip-toed her way to the bathroom and turned on the light, briefly covering her eyes before adjusting and washing her face in the sink. After drying her face off, she looked into the mirror. "What kind of nightmare was that?" she asked herself. "And who, or what, is…Azathoth?" The name still sent a chill down her spine.

She turned off the light and headed towards her room, but jumped when she heard something hit her front door. She approached the door cautiously, peering through the peephole before unlocking and opening the door. Outside, she saw no one, but at the doorstep was a small box wrapped in brown paper with a string tied around it, the words "To Ami Mizuno" were written in big, black marker letters. In the corner were smaller words which read, "From N.K.," which were also in black marker. Ami looked around to see if anyone was around before picking up the small box and bringing it inside, locking the door behind her.

She set the package on the table and began to examine it. She looked for any kind of return address, but found none and could not recall anyone she knew with the initials "N.K.". She suspected it might be some kind of trap by the youma, but if it was, she thought she would've sensed something by now. She finally decided to open the box, carefully tearing off the brown paper and untying the string before taking off the tape and slowly opening the lid. Inside was some newspaper, which she removed to reveal a 3.5"x5.5" black bound book. She couldn't see the title, so she turned on a light and picked up the book. However, it appeared the cover had no title. She gently opened the cover and turned to the title page, which read, "_Azathoth and Others_ by Edward Derby."

Upon seeing the title, her head began to hurt, she felt dizzy, and her heart raced. The name which had shaken her to her core was not just an invention of her imagination, but something else; something she could not quite pin. But she had a feeling that whatever it was, it was trying to tell her something. After her fear quelled once more, she immediately flipped through the book. It was in English and seemed to be a collection of poems. She opened to the first poem of the book titled, "Azathoth", which seemed to take up most of the book. Her heart began to race once more as she read the poem, which told of Derby's journey to see Azathoth using opium. She began to feel the same dread and fear that she felt in her nightmare once she came upon this section:

_Great Azathoth! The Lord of Everything_

_Who reigns supreme among the Secret Gods,_

_Amorphous in his dumb omnipotence,_

_The universal centrifuge's core._

_The billiard planets round him ricochet,_

_Chaotic Demiurge that boils up like_

_Unto a geyser foul and spewing blight._

_Though o'er the cosmos blind domain he wilds_

_He knows it not, naught else, nor anything_

_And by mere frenzied thrashing doth create._

_But in the nitrous chasms of my dream_

_He stood revealed, concealed in human shape_

_Though only vague resemble could he ape_

She shut the book and put it down, her mind racing with ideas and images of what was described. Her body was filled with a sense of fear, of revulsion, and she wanted to burn the book, or at least throw it away forever. But, at the same time, she felt a sense of curiosity. She wanted to finish the book and learn more of the cosmic being and of the significance of her dream. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 5:15 AM. She picked up the book, turned off the light and went back to bed. An hour later she woke up from a dreamless sleep and got ready for school, slipping the book into her bag before leaving. She locked the front door behind her and walked out of her condominium and down the street. She paused for a moment to look at a poster for a missing cat, feeling pity for it before continuing on her way to school.

Ami arrived at her school a minute before the passing bell. She had a little trouble concentrating due to her lack of sleep, but managed to get through her classes while reading through the book in-between her work. At lunch, she found her friends gathered around Usagi who seemed as if she was on the edge of bursting into tears. "What's wrong?" Ami asked, curious about her friend's sadness and lamenting the fact that Mamoru had left town due to a family emergency, thus unable to console her.

Minako turned to her and replied, "Chibiusa disappeared last night and we have no idea where she is. Did you see her at all?" Ami shook her head as she tried to comfort Usagi.

Ami patted her on the back and said, "There there, I'm sure she'll turn up soon," as Usagi started to tear up and cry, putting her head on the table with her arms folded. Ami sat down and joined everyone as they tried to reassure her they'd find Chibiusa. Rei was trying to convince Usagi that they would, indeed, find Chibiusa and that she would be ok. Minako, meanwhile was throwing out ideas on how and where to find her, while Makoto confidently supported and seemed oddly enthusiastic about finding her, almost as if she were expecting to find out that she had been abducted by some group of bad guys so she could beat them up. Ami mostly tried to help Rei in encouraging Usagi, and though she did eventually stop crying, she was still deeply worried.

Once lunch was over and the school day ended, Minako got everyone together and told them to look all over town for Chibiusa while Usagi called the police. Everyone agreed to meet at Usagi's house if they found her or by dusk if they didn't. Ami set out and decided to check the park, while Rei checked the shops and Makoto asked around. At the park, Ami came across a man dressed in a dark robe handing out pamphlets, but what was weird was that people seemed to be actually taking them and reading rather than laughing in his face or throwing them away. She walked up to him with a confused look on her face, the man handing her a pamphlet and saying, "Join the brotherhood," before returning his attention to people passing by. His face was hidden by the hood and his hands hidden by black gloves.

She looked at the pamphlet which read, "Join the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh," with a picture of a silhouetted pharaoh below it. She thought about just tossing it away, but for some reason something in the man's voice made her not want to do so. Instead, she walked away and read it. The pamphlet told how the Black Pharaoh was a messenger of the Gods and would usher in a Golden Age. It sounded like the usual cult dreck, but she couldn't bring herself to throw it away.

She made her way to Usagi's house where she met up with Rei and Makoto, who said they turned up nothing and went inside to tell Usagi. When they found her sitting on her bed, she looked up at them with a sad look and cried again once they told her that they found nothing. They spent the most of the evening trying to figure out where Chibiusa could've possibly gone and whether or not she had gone there willingly. Minako continued suggesting various places they could look and possibly look outside of the city while Makoto continued to put forth possible suspects, though Rei stopped her once she started getting increasingly outlandish.

Ami was, for the most part, attempting to contribute ideas when she suddenly said, "Have any of you heard of the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh?" Everyone turned to each other and shook their heads as Ami took out the pamphlet. "They seem to be a new cult in town, do you think they might've taken Chibiusa in as a disciple or something?" she asked as she passed the pamphlet around so they could examine it.

"Where did you get this?" Rei asked with slight concern in her voice.

"From the park. A man in a black robe was passing them out and a lot of people seemed interested," Ami said, causing Rei to frown. Being a miko, she was probably a little concerned that this cult might take followers and donations away from the shrine.

Minako was examining the pamphlet when she spoke up. "I guess we can check it out," she said, and Makoto jumped up.

"Alright! We'll bust in and beat up every single one of them!" she shouted ecstatically, causing everyone to giggle a little before Rei put her hand on Makoto's shoulder.

"I think we should try being nice before we go for the brute force route," she said while everyone nodded in agreement. Usagi had a look of relief as everyone left to go home for the night, saying good-bye to them at the door as they headed home. Once they were gone, she turned to a small table with pictures on it. There were various pictures of her and her parents, along with Chibiusa. However, Chibiusa, strangely, seemed faded in every picture.

* * *

Ami walked through the dark and dimly lit streets. The night was clear, but slightly cold. She looked up at the faint stars and moon, feeling a touch of fear as it reminded her of the horrid dream. While she approached her home, she couldn't help but feel as if she were being watched. She stopped and looked at the nearby alleyways and at the surrounding buildings, but saw nothing. She continued along, but stopped again when she heard a weak sound as if something had landed on the building above her. She looked up again and saw nothing, but heard a soft buzzing noise. She walked a bit faster, and then started running as she heard the buzzing getting closer and the sounds of something leaping across the buildings above following her. Ami was far too scared to look up as she got to her condominium and shut the front door behind, panting and sliding down against the door, her heart racing. She was unsure of what was following her and prayed that she had lost it.

After taking a few minutes to regain her composure, she headed up to her apartment and went inside, locking the door behind her. Ami looked around and found a note from her mother saying that she had prepared some tonkotsu ramen noodles and two onigiri which she left in the fridge. The note continued on, saying that she would be home late and couldn't join Ami due to urgent business. Ami sighed a little as she headed to the fridge and rewarmed the ramen noodles. She ate them along with the rice balls before heading to her room and doing her homework. Once finished, she took the black book out of her bag and began to read it.

The poems after "Azathoth" seemed to vary wildly, some seemingly innocuous poems about the New England countryside and others telling of terrifying vistas and horrible creatures. The more chilling poems caused her head to hurt excruciatingly, but she managed to become so engrossed in the reading that by the time she finished the very depressing "Out of the Old Land", the last poem of the book, she looked to see that it was late and that she had to get to bed. She put the book in her desk drawer before putting on her pajamas and going to bed.

* * *

That night, she had the same dream where the violet stream brought her to the dark place. She could not resist it, despite her mental pleas, and soon found herself feeling the same fear and dread while listening to the monotonous piping and maddening beat once more. When she turned to face the terrifying presence and the music stopped, she heard more this time then the last. This time, she heard such foul syllables and horrible words that were unpronounceable to the human tongue in conjunction with the hideous name of Azathoth, causing her to scream. She felt her ears bleed from the insidious syllables, the pain of the noise along with the oppressive fear and dread made her feel as if she were about to die. Ami finally woke up screaming, sitting straight up in the bed and trembling as she cried. She checked her ears and found that they were not bleeding. Her clock again read 4:44 AM.

Her mother burst into the room. "Ami! Are you ok?" she asked as she found her daughter still crying in her bed. Ami's mother then sat next to her and hugged her. "What's wrong honey?" she asked.

Ami managed to answer, "I had a…horrible dream." She then continued crying into her mother.

"Shhh, it's ok, Ami. It was just a dream," she said as she caressed her daughter. Eventually Ami stopped crying and her mother got her some water before kissing her good night and returning to bed. Ami was about to do the same, but was disturbed by the sound of something hitting the front door several moments later. Ami was still trembling a little as she went to the front door. She carefully opened the door and found another package similar to the one she had gotten previously. At first she thought about just leaving it because of the images the previous book had implanted, and yet she still wanted to know more and this mysterious "N.K." seemed to be encouraging her. Ami's curiosity overrode her fear and she took the package to her room, closing the front door before placing it on the desk and turning on the light. She opened the box and removed the newspaper, finding a 4"x6.75" book bound in dark red buckram with the words "_People of the Monolith _by Justin Geoffrey" written on the cover. Upon a quick skim she found it was yet another poetry collection, these ones seemingly more bizarre. She decided to read the first stanza before going back to bed which said:

_They say foul things of Old Times still lurk_

_In dark forgotten corners of the world._

_And Gates still gape to loose, on certain nights._

_Shapes pent in Hell._

The opening stanza sent a chill down Ami's spine, but it still intrigued her and made her want to keep reading. And she would have, if it weren't for the fact she needed to sleep. She closed the book and turned off the light before retiring to bed and falling into another dreamless sleep.

* * *

Ami woke up once more at her usual time, though she felt very tired due to last night's incident. She then got out of bed and got ready for school, putting the dark red book into her bag before leaving. Once she reached the entrance of her condominium, she carefully opened the door and peeked outside to make sure whatever followed her last night was not still present. After a minute of hearing nothing but cars and people walking by, she left and headed for school. On her way she found the same poster for the missing cat only this time there were a few more for other missing cats and dogs. Ami mourned them too, but also became slightly suspicious as to the nature of these disappearances. The thought nagged her the entire way to school and throughout her classes. Despite her insomnia, she was able get through her classes with little difficulty and met up with her friends at lunch, where her friends were talking with Usagi. Ami sat down with them as they discussed how to get into the cult's hideout.

"I say we kick the door down and beat the answers out of them!" Makoto shouted with enthusiasm as Rei and Minako giggled.

"I don't think that would help. I think we should sneak in and search around," Ami suggested as the others nodded in agreement.

"But how are we going to sneak in?" Minako asked.

"Simple, we just attend one of their orientations or whatever and we'll be in," Ami said as Rei frowned a little, which did not go unnoticed by Minako.

"What's wrong Rei?" Minako asked, and Rei quickly smiled and stood up straight.

"Heheheh, nothing's wrong" she said, though there was still a hint that something was amiss with her. The others looked to Rei who continued smile, but they quickly returned to their planning and finalizing it.

"What do you think Usagi?" Makoto asked and Usagi smiled.

"I think we should do everything we can to bring Chibiusa home, even if it means we have to kick all their butts!" she shouted triumphantly, causing everyone to giggle. However, once Usagi sat down, she seemed to have a pondering expression.

* * *

After lunch, Ami went through her classes until the end of school, after which her friends met up and headed off to the cult's hideout . A small crowd had formed, apparently waiting for the doors to open. The hideout itself seemed to resemble a large gothic chapel, its walls painted black and various odd symbols painted in white across them along with strange horrifying statues dotting the roof. Ami trembled a little at the hideous statues, as some looked almost unearthly. It wasn't long before the doors opened and the people filed in. Inside the chapel were the usual pews and stage with a podium, though it seemed slightly dank and decrepit with a slight air of age. Once everyone was seated, a man in a dark hood with black gloves stepped onto the stage and attended the podium.

"Brothers and sisters," he said in a suave, captivating voice. "We are here today to introduce you to the truth of your existence, the truth of your being, and the truth of the Universe. We are here to enlighten you, to educate you on the ways in which the world truly works. We have many volumes from which you may extract this knowledge and share it with the world. We have no secrets to hide, and you may share as much knowledge from these tomes as you'd like, or you can simply study them and gain a better understanding of everything. You shall learn everything from the creation of Earth to the true Gods of the Universe…" Ami turned to see Rei's face contorted in anger, she looked like she was ready to run up to the man and punch him across the face. "…All you have to do is pay a membership fee of ¥ 3,973.42 and all our knowledge shall be open to you," he concluded as people clapped and cheered.

Rei seemingly exploded when she stood up and yelled, "Hold it!" The hooded man stopped as she ran before any of her friends could stop her. "What kind of crap is this?" she demanded, infuriated, but the hooded man didn't seem the least bit annoyed by her.

"What do you mean?" he asked calmly.

"This whole cult! I'm the miko of this town's shrine and I will not have you preaching lies to these people!" Rei shouted while the hooded figure lightly chuckled.

"But I am not lying," he said. But before Rei could rebut, she was dragged off by her friends, struggling and shouting the whole way out.

Rei was dragged all the way to Usagi's home where they set her down on Usagi's bed. "What the heck, Rei?! What were you thinking?! You ruined everything!" Makoto scolded Rei as everyone sat around and looked at her with disappointment.

"Hey, I was only trying to help!" Rei defended.

"Help? How?! You made a scene and now I'm not even sure they will let us back in!" Makoto shouted. Usagi teared up a little, and Minako went to comforting her. "Thanks to you, we will never find Chibiusa!" she continued.

Rei looked up at Makoto and angrily yelled, "I was trying to help those people! That man was feeding them nothing but lies and I will not have him brainwashing them and leaving my shrine to decay into dust!"

Usagi suddenly cried, "Stop it!" causing everyone to look at her. "Arguing isn't going to bring us any closer to finding Chibiusa!" she said with tears streaming from her eyes. Everyone looked down silently. The silence went on for what felt like an eternity before being interrupted by Rei.

"I'm sorry," she said, tearing up along with Makoto as she too said she was sorry. Afterward they began discussing new ways to get in.

"Maybe we could disguise ourselves and sneak in?" Minako suggested.

"But how will we get deeper into the chapel? I'm pretty sure someone would notice a group of people who aren't members," Ami replied as she read _People of the Monolith _while everyone thought to themselves. The book contained various bizarre and eldritch poems describing the rituals and gods worshiped by a strange village. The descriptions and rhymes caused Ami's head to hurt.

Rei looked to her and asked, "Are you alright Ami? You look pale," snapping Ami to attention.

"Oh I'm…fine," she said, although in reality the horrible poems were bringing her to the brink of collapse.

"What's that book you have there?" Rei asked. Ami closed it and put it away.

"It's just a bunch of poems," she said with an awkward giggle. Rei raised an eyebrow before Makoto spoke up.

"I've got it! We'll stake out their chapel and see who frequently goes in, then we'll jump him and interrogate him!" she said proudly. Everyone looked to her, thought for a moment and then agreed.

"That sounds reasonable," Ami said. Rei was still looking at her from the corner of her eye, but was, for the most part, involved with the plan.

"Alright, so who's going to stake them out?" Usagi asked.

"We can switch out each day so that way we don't inconvenience our schedules and worry our parents," Minako suggested and Makoto nodded in agreement. "I'll take the first watch tomorrow. For now let's get some rest," she said as everyone got up and headed home.

* * *

Ami cautiously walked the darkening streets, the streetlights coming to life as the sun dipped below the horizon, carefully listening for anything suspicious and praying that whatever chased her the night before didn't return. The night was cool and clear, though it was a little cloudy so it would occasionally get dimmer when the moon was blocked. Her journey seemed to go unimpeded until she heard the horrible faint buzzing once more, only this time it sounded even closer. This caused her to quickly turn around to see an alleyway she had ignored, and from that alleyway she heard the sound of something scuttling away and knocking over a trash can in the process.

Fearful and alone, Ami quickly ran back to her condominium and the faint buzzing sound soon becoming audible from above. She panted and ran faster as the buzzing seemed to be getting closer and closer. The sound of inhuman, scuttling legs became soon reached her ears, which only made her panic further. She continued to run with an ever quickening pace until finally she reached the front door, ran in and shut the door behind her, pressing her back against it for fear that whatever was out there might attempt to break in. After a few minutes of leaning against the door, she looked out and saw nothing, then headed up to her apartment. Once she arrived, she found it empty once more, save for another note left by her mother saying she had left her some pre-cooked dinner she had to reheat and that, again, she would not be home until much later due to work.

Ami went about the house, locking any windows and the front door before reheating her dinner and eating it. She trembled a little as she ate, still thinking about what could possibly be following her at night. At first she thought it might be a youma, but lately there hadn't been any youma attacks at all. In fact, lately it seemed as if the youma had up and vanished entirely. Ami shuddered upon the realization that if the youma had disappeared then whatever has been following her must be something else entirely or even responsible for their disappearance.

Ami looked around to make sure nothing was looking in on her as she finished her dinner and started doing her homework. She became so involved in her study that the sudden ringing of her phone caused her to jump. She carefully walked up to the phone and picked it up before answering it. "H-Hello?" she answered meekly and Usagi's voice came over the line.

"Ami come over quick!" she bawled_,_ causing Ami to jump again.

"Why? What's wrong?" she asked.

"No time to explain, just get here now!" Usagi replied before hanging up.

Ami hung up the phone and paused for a minute, knowing she would have to go back outside where whatever had followed her was more than likely waiting for her. On the other hand, she had to go see if her friend was in trouble. She eventually made up her mind and walked out the front door, carefully heading down the stairs before arriving at the entrance. She then slowly opened the door and tip-toed out, listening for the buzzing or scuttling. When she heard nothing, she quickly ran down a different path than she usually took to Usagi's house, hoping that the buzzing thing would not find or follow her.

It took her a bit longer than usual, but eventually she arrived at her friend's house. Minako, Makoto and Rei all there to greet her, and they went inside. Inside her house, they found Usagi kneeling on the ground and crying, surrounded by photo albums and framed photographs. Usagi's friends approached her cautiously.

"Usagi? What's wrong?" Minako asked as she knelt down and put her hand on Usagi's shoulder.

"Gone… She's…gone…" she said as everyone looked confused.

"We know Usagi, but we'll find her soon enough," Rei said in an attempt to reassure her.

"No…look…" Usagi wailed, pointing to the albums and pictures. Her friends looked to each other before nodding and sorting through the pictures. At first they didn't understand, but then, as they looked through every picture, they realized something horrible. Chibiusa wasn't in a single one of them.


	2. Wrath of the Miko

Usagi sat on the floor in tears as her friends examined the pictures over and over again. They were desperately trying to find any sign of Chibiusa in them, but continued to find nothing. "H-How is this possible?" Ami asked aloud as everyone cleaned up the photos.

"I don't know…" Rei replied before everyone gathered around Usagi.

"There has to be some kind of explanation. Usagi, do you think Luna might know?" Makoto asked.

Usagi continued to cry and sniffle, but managed to cooperate. "Sh-She's staying…at the vet…" she said before she started crying again. Minako tried to comfort her as everyone started thinking.

Suddenly Ami snapped her fingers. "Maybe Setsuna knows. She is the guardian of the Time Gate and might know what's going on," she suggested, and everyone nodded in agreement. Makoto got up and headed to the phone while Minako helped Usagi up and led her to her room. Makoto dialed in Setsuna's number and waited a few minutes before hanging it up. "She's not answering, but maybe we can contact her tomorrow. For now we need to go home and rest," she said.

Rei and Ami nodded, then Rei called upstairs. "Minako, we're heading home for the night!"

"Alright! I'll stay here for a bit longer. I want to make sure Usagi will be alright," Minako called back. And with that, everyone left Usagi's house and went home.

Ami took the same alternative route home, still not hearing the buzzing or scuttling she had come to dread. Once home, she refused to go to sleep, opting to drink soda and coffee for fear that the next dream might be worse than her last. She spent most of her time reading and re-reading _Azathoth and Others _and _People of the Monolith_, trying to decipher the meanings behind the poems. However, this only caused her headaches to return; especially any time she thought she was starting to understand them further. Eventually she could not stand the headaches and blurring vision any longer, and instead decided to watch television. She silently snuck into her living room and turned the TV on, quickly turning the volume down just low enough so as not to wake her mother. Ami then switched over to the news to see if there were any reports on Chibiusa or the cult.

The reporter came on and began to speak. "Good evening. First up tonight, a shocking rise in the disappearance of cats and dogs within the Azabu-Jūban area has residents extremely worried. In the past week alone, at least 14 pets have gone missing and their owners cannot seem to find them anywhere. Police are looking into the situation, but so far have no leads and advise that pet-owners send their dogs and/or cats to out of town relatives." Ami shook a little at the news, hoping that Luna and Artemis would not become the next victims.

"In other news, the Azabu-Jūban area has been experiencing some unusual reports. Four eyewitnesses claimed to have seen what they describe as "crabs with wings" during the evening and late-night hours. One witness even photographed the supposed creature, but the area in the photo where the creature was supposed to be was too distorted to see. Officials have claimed that these series of sightings are hoaxes and that the witnesses may have either been intoxicated or their eyes were simply playing tricks on them."

Ami shut off the TV after hearing that, curling up and trembling. She now realized that whatever was following her was not in her head, but were in fact real. She clutched her head as her heart began to pick-up. And suddenly, she thought she heard buzzing, which was quickly starting to grow louder. She looked around, but saw nothing and shook even more when she started to hear the scuttling. Her heart began to race as the buzzing and scuttling seemed to grow louder, almost as if it was all around her.

Ami panicked and tried to get up, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. She could only tremble as the noises seemed to come closer, seemingly coming from inside the walls themselves. She finally just closed her eyes and screamed, preparing for the inevitable. But when she opened her eyes, she was all alone. Her heart still raced and she continued to tremble, but managed to stand up. She looked around and listened, but heard nothing. "W-Was that…" she said, but trailed off when she realized it was all in her head. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:44 AM. She wondered how long she had been lying there, cowering at the imaginary noises.

She suddenly jumped at the sound of something hitting her front door. Ami carefully approached the door and opened it, finding another box. This one was much larger than the previous, but still had the black marker writing on it. She lifted up the box, which turned out to be heavy and did not help her weakened state, and brought it into her living room before setting it on a table and opening it.

Inside, she found a large bound manuscript in fairly good condition. Upon taking it out and examining it closely, she could see that the paper was only slightly worn, but none of the pages seemed too torn or ruined. The cover page read, "Translation of _Pnakotica_ by-." She could not read the author's name, as it had been smudged. Flipping through it, she could see that it was in English, though it seemed more informational rather than a collection of poetry. Ami took the manuscript back to her room and sat down to start reading, but suddenly collapsed and fell asleep, her sugar and caffeine having finally crashed.

* * *

Ami woke the next morning, still lying atop the manuscript she had gotten. When she looked at the time, she saw that it was 1:08 PM. At first she was overcome with panic. She immediately jumped up from her seat and tried to find some clothes, but then she looked at the calendar and realized it was a weekend. She still got dressed though, so that she could help her friends find Setsuna. Once she was dressed, she paused for a moment, recalling what happened last night and shivered a little at the thought before she exited her room. As she walked to the door, she noticed a message on her answering machine. She made her way over and listened to it.

"Hey Ami, it's Makoto. I just wanted you to know that I'll be taking the first shift. Usagi seems to be doing better. You should meet at her house to go looking for Setsuna once you get this message, alright? Good-bye," Makoto's voice said before hanging up. Ami thought about the information before heading back into her room and putting the manuscript into her bag, then finally leaving for Usagi's house.

Ami exited her condominium with extreme caution, looking at the roof tops and balconies as she made her way to Usagi's house. Despite knowing they only seemed to come out at night, she still felt as though they would still watch her from afar, observing every movement she made for some alien reason. It wasn't long before she reached Usagi's house, which settled her fear a little, as she knew she would be with her friends. Inside, she found Usagi, Rei, and Minako in Usagi's room. "Were you able to contact her?" Ami asked as she entered. Her friends all shook their heads.

"We couldn't get a hold of her, but that's Setsuna; never around when we need her. Although, if she hasn't shown up, then there probably isn't anything particularly wrong," Minako said, causing Usagi's saddened expression to lighten up a bit.

"I'm not sure that's a good sign, Minako. It could mean that Setsuna has been taken, or beaten by whatever took Chibiusa," Rei pointed out, and Usagi started to look down again.

"But remember Rei, all the enemies of Crystal Tokyo are gone. So, who could be powerful enough to take her or Chibiusa?" Ami replied causing Usagi to cheer up.

"That still doesn't explain where Chibiusa went," Rei said, and everyone else sighed.

"So how are Haruka and Hotaru doing on Michiru's European tour?" Ami asked after a few moments of silence.

"Hotaru called earlier and wanted to know where Chibiusa was so we lied and said she was sick in bed and that she was taking a nap at the time," Minako explained before the phone rang. Rei got up and answered it before returning.

"That was Makoto reporting in. She says she hasn't seen anything too threatening about it, though some people seem to come out of it looking a little dazed or frightened and they didn't respond to her when she talked to them. She said their eyes were distant and it was as if they were in very deep thought…" Rei said. Everyone nodded, trying to process the information, and Rei started heading to the door.

"Where are you going?" Ami asked.

"I'm going to prepare for my shift. Call me when Makoto gets back," Rei replied, leaving everyone staring at each other in confusion.

* * *

Rei headed back to the shrine, her mind set on what she was going to do once it was her turn. She took out and dressed in her miko outfit before she began making her picket sign. She had bought a foam board and a length of wood yesterday and she used her grandfather's staple gun to put it all together, writing the words _DON'T BELIEVE THEIR LIES!_ in black marker. "I'll show them who's telling the truth," Rei mumbled to herself as she finished the sign. When the phone suddenly rang, she quickly picked it up.

"Hey Rei, it's your turn to stake out," Makoto said.

"I'll be there in a minute," Rei replied before she hung up. She soon left the shrine with her picket sign, confident that she could convince the people that the cult was nothing but a pack of lies.

It didn't take Rei long to reach the cult's hideout. Once she was there, she stood outside the main entrance and began pacing, shouting phrases like, "Stop the Brotherhood!" and "These people are lying; they only want your money!" The people, however, seemed to ignore her as they passed by or entered the church. This quickly aggravated her to the point where she grabbed a man who was heading inside. "Why are you going into that horrible place?" she shouted.

The man trembled and whimpered, "B-Because they…they teach me everything…" he said meekly.

Rei began shaking him. "Teaching you what? Some filthy lies about your leader being a prophet from God?" Rei pressed, as the man continued cowering.

"Th-They teach me about…the Great Old Ones….the ones who really c-control the Universe…" he weakly replied before Rei growled.

"Great Old Ones? What kind of crap is that!" Rei responded furiously, but before she could press him further, her friends appeared looking shocked. Rei released the man once she saw her friends, and the man ran into the church as quickly as he could.

"Rei, what are you doing?" Minako asked while Rei picked her sign back up.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she replied with an air of anger still in her voice.

"It looks like you're bullying people and ruining our plan again!" Makoto said angrily, causing Rei to scowl at her.

"These people are being lied to and tricked into believing crap that's designed to steal their money. I will not have them taking away our donations and treating our beliefs as childish fantasies!" Rei said.

"Just once can't you stick to our plan instead of going into a tirade about your beliefs!" Makoto shouted. Rei looked like she was about to punch someone when suddenly, the doors of the church slammed open and startled them. The tall man in the hood stood there, his face obscured by the shadow of the hood and the inside of the church.

"What is going on out here?" he said in his calm, suave voice.

The girls looked at him with surprise before Rei walked up to him. Everyone quickly tried to stop her, but it was futile. "I'm trying to expose your lies to everyone!" she shouted as her friends attempted to hold her back.

The Black Man chuckled. "Oh, it's you again, still claiming that the truth is a lie. While I understand your position, I don't see how protesting will help," he said and Rei growled again.

"It will drive them away and show them the error of their ways!" she responded harshly, as the Black Man chuckled once more.

"You're so confident and full of energy, but as you can see, they are not deterred by a confused girl. They seek truth and knowledge, and I provide it. Now, go back to your little shrine, or I'll call the authorities," he said before heading back in and closing the door. Rei tried to take a swing, but missed and her friends dragged her away.

Rei eventually calmed down while her friends dragged her to Usagi's house. She remained quiet and looked down as they took her to Usagi's bedroom and sat her on the bed. Makoto scowled at her while her other friends looked disappointed. "Why, Rei?" Makoto asked and Rei just looked down silently. "Why did you have to ruin the plan? Why couldn't you just keep yourself under control? Why did you have to screw everything up?!" she scolded. Rei still remained quiet.

"Rei are you…alright?" Ami asked, and Rei suddenly exploded.

"No, because my best friends won't support me when I am trying to defend myself and help people!" she shouted, tears streaming down her eyes. And with that, she stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Everyone stayed silent for what felt like five hours, either looking down or looking pityingly at each other. Soon they quietly left Usagi's house and headed home, unsure of whether or not they could truly forgive each other or themselves.

* * *

Minako arrived at her house several minutes later, finding a large box on her step. The box read, "To: Minako Aino" written in black marker, and near the bottom it read, "From: N.K." in the same black writing. Confused, she decided to pick it up and take it in. Once inside she found her mother washing the dishes. "Hey mom, where's dad?" she asked.

Her mother smiled and spoke while concentrating on the dishes. "Oh, he's working late today, honey. How was your day?"

Minako sighed. "It wasn't good. We made Rei mad and we think it might be our fault," she said.

Her mother continued to smile. "I'm sure you'll patch things up tomorrow," she said, which caused Minako to smile a little.

"Yeah… By the way, did you order anything for me, or do you know anyone with the initials 'N.K.'?" she asked and her mother shook her head.

"No, why?" she responded.

"No reason," Minako lied as she hid the package behind her back and headed upstairs. Inside her room, Artemis nuzzled Minako as she examined the package.

"What's that you've got there?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. It says it's from 'N.K', but I don't know anyone by that name…" she replied.

"Do you think it's a trap from an enemy?" Artemis postulated but Minako shook her head.

"We took care of Crystal Tokyo's enemies" she replied.

"Do you think it's from a secret admirer at school?" he teased, and Minako smiled widely.

"You really think so?!" she said excitedly as she quickly tore open the box. Inside there was a nearly black, red-striated polyhedron with many irregular flat surfaces. It looked like some kind of crystal or extremely polished rock. The object did not touch the bottom of the box, but was held suspended by means of a metal band around its center, with seven strangely designed supports extending horizontally to angles of the box's inner wall near the top. Once Minako saw it, she could not look away from it; the object having an almost hypnotic grip over her. As she looked at its glistening surfaces, she could tell it was almost transparent, with half-formed worlds of wonder within. She then suddenly had visions of alien orbs with great stone towers, and other orbs with titanic mountains and no mark of life, and still remoter spaces where only a stirring in vague blackness told of the presence of consciousness and will. When Minako finally snapped out of it, she saw Artemis looking at her with concern.

"Minako, are you alright?" he asked as Minako nodded.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…" she said before sealing the box back up and placing it on her desk.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ami was lying back on her bed and reading the manuscript, which told the history of ancient Earth. The manuscript recounted the history of the Elder Things, a race who descended from the stars around one billion years ago and seemed to have been responsible for the creation of Earth's first living organisms. It also spoke of The Great Race of Yith, who came to Earth by swapping minds with a race of cone-shaped creatures and leaving them on their dying world of Yith. They were also the apparent authors of Pnakotic Fragments, which was where _Pnakotica _was derived from. The manuscript went on to describe how the Elder Things and the Yithians created great civilizations of advanced technology and knowledge, though would go to war with each other and other alien civilizations on Earth. Though like all civilizations, they eventually came to an end. The Elder Things engineered blob-like monstrosities known as shoggoths, which could grow any organ or limb necessary for any task, but they eventually rebelled and killed their masters. The Yithians, on the other hand, fell to a race of Flying Polyps. And though their bodies died, their minds were projected into the distant future. All this information gave Ami a headache and made her dizzy. It seemed too absurd, but her mind just couldn't dismiss the information, as if some unknown part of her mind knew it was absolutely true.

As Ami tried to come to grips with the information, she came to the chapter about a race known as the Mi-Go. The Mi-Go were apparently fungal-like beings that were made of matter not known to humanity and who came to Earth from an outpost on a planet called Yuggoth. The Mi-Go also went to war with the Yithians and the Elder Things, but what disturbed Ami the most was their description. The Mi-Go were described as pinkish crustaceans with membranous wings and several sets of articulated limbs; they also possessed an ellipsoid head, covered with multitudes of short antennae and communicated through buzzing and changing the color of their head.

Ami shook as she read the description. It seemed like, if simplified, they could match the description of the creatures people had been seeing and the thing that had been following her. Ami continued to shake and her dizziness worsened. Suddenly, she heard a knock on her bedroom door. Still shaking, she rose and answered the door. Standing there was the hideous crustacean Mi-Go. Ami screamed and turned away as the creature seemed to jump towards her, ready to attack. But when Ami opened her eyes and turned back, there was nothing there; just an empty doorway.

Ami started crying as she fell to the floor, clutching her head. She could feel her mind drifting further away as she continued reading these books, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted to know more about these beings; she wanted to… Ami stopped herself at that last thought. She never wanted to meet such a creature, and yet she knew they could give her more. For a brief moment, she thought about joining the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh, thinking that the "truth" was probably the same information being given to her in these books. But she quickly shot that idea down, knowing how much Rei hated the cult and that if she were to join it, she would not only make her friends angry, she would make Rei hate her forever. Ami managed to shut the door and crawl into bed, her thoughts still racing about what she he had learned and what she had seen.

* * *

Across town, Rei prayed in the main hall in the Hikawa Shrine. She prayed to the spirits to give her the strength to overcome her anger and show the people how wrong they were. But she also prayed that her friends would forgive her for her anger and they, in turn, would see how poorly they supported her when she truly needed it. She hoped that tomorrow they could talk it over and be friends once more. Rei then heard a faint sound in the night. At first she didn't think anything of it, and she thought it might've been the wind or maybe a stray cat. But the noise drew closer, growing louder and louder. It quickly became clearer what it was. It sounded like a mass of slime moving across the pathway along with the echo of an indiscernible word. Rei stood up and opened the doors of the main hall before looking out to the pathway. There, she saw a large shapeless gathering of protoplasmic bubbles, faintly self-luminous, and with myriad temporary eyes forming and un-forming as pustules of greenish light reflected off of it in the moonlit night. The huge blob-like creature, despite its size, seemed to be approaching fast, the echoes becoming clearer as it approached.

"Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!" it chanted and cried. Rei quickly shut the doors to the main hall and frantically ran around the shrine looking for her pen, the dim light and her own panic not helping matters. She could hear the chants of "Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!" growing closer and closer as her heart raced. She continued to search around for her pen, but to no avail. It wasn't long until she heard something hit the main hall's doors, sounding as if a train had hit it. The pounding persisted as Rei continued her frantic search, the main hall's doors bending out and snapping while the creature continued chanting, "Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!" as if taunting her with the knowledge that it was approaching.

Rei finally found her pen but after another slam by the creature, she dropped it and caused it to roll underneath a low part of the shrine. Rei got on her stomach and start frantically trying to reach for the pen, the doors of the main hall bending and snapping further and further. The creature began oozing in through the cracks while still ramming the door, the force of which kept causing the pen to shift between being within her reach and going further away. Finally, Rei managed to get her pen and stand, but at that moment the creature broke down the doors, flooding into the room, and Rei screamed.


	3. The Faceless Man

Ami found herself in an empty room which, despite the room itself being dark, she could see fully due to an unknown illumination. Upon inspecting her surroundings, she could see the walls jutted out and met at strange angles. It was actually quite difficult for her to look at the angles themselves as they seemed to shift radically the more she tried to concentrate on them, as if her mind was having trouble determining exactly what she was looking at. Ami tried to find some kind of door or entrance to the strange room but found none, her heart starting to race a little at the prospect of being trapped in the alien room. She jumped when she suddenly felt something touch her shoulder; she turned to see a tall dark figure behind her.

The figure was completely black from head to toe and had seemingly no distinguishing features on its body other than its basic outline, almost like a three-dimensional shadow. Gazing upon its head, Ami could see the figure did not have a face but instead what seemed like a window into the void of space. She shook before the figure as it towered over her, and despite it lacking eyes, Ami could feel a piercing gaze coming from the void where its face should have been. The figure then spoke. "I shall grant you the knowledge you require to learn the truth," it said in a voice that sounded as if a thousand distorted souls were calling from across the void. The figure then raised its hand before various alien symbols began to encircle it. Ami could faintly hear whispering as the symbols joined one another and began to spin before the figure reached out and touched Ami's head, causing her to scream as a bright white light flashed and she woke up.

Ami breathed heavily as she sat up in bed, holding her hand to her head while thinking about what she had just seen. She was still recovering from the hallucination she had had and the dream was only shaking her up further. She looked at the clock saw that it was 4:44 AM once again; knowing she would likely get another package, Ami got out of bed, trembling a little while making her way to the door. Her room was still dark, but it didn't take long for her eyes to adjust and allow her to find the light switch and turn it on before leaving. As if on cue, she heard something hit her front door which caused her to jump a little before she carefully walked up to the door. She grabbed the doorknob and was about to turn it when she hesitated. She knew that the book she was going to pick up was more than likely going to contain more information that would frighten her and cause her more pain but at the same time, she was thrilled that she was learning something new, something which no one else had probably seen for centuries.

Ami slowly turned the knob and opened the door, in front of it she found a slightly larger box with the same writing on it which she picked up and took it inside. Ami set the box upon the table before turning on the light and opening it, inside she found a thick, black leather-bound folio book with the words "_Nameless Cults_ by Friedrich von Junzt" printed in gold on the cover. Upon quickly flipping through the book, she found she could read it with ease, but then she shuddered when she realized that the book was in fact in German. Flipping back to the cover, she realized that the title was actually _Unaussprechlichen Kulten_ and that she had only read it as _Nameless Cults_. Ami rubbed her eyes, wondering how she was able to read a language she had never had any experience in.

She began to skim through the book, which contained information on various cults from around the world along with some truly frightful images of the various cults' deities and rituals. Like the books before, the text and images made her dizzy and caused her head to hurt, but Ami managed to muscle through and continued skimming.

She was about to turn in when she suddenly noticed the words "Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh" in Chapter Thirteen. This sent shivers down Ami's spine; if the illustrations were any indication, their inclusion in this book could prove something sinister. With newfound energy, Ami began to read the passage, which told of how the Brotherhood was formed around the Black Pharaoh, Nephren-Ka, who worshipped the dark god Nyarlathotep and came into possession of an object known as the Shining Trapezohedron which was apparently the home of one of Nyarlathotep's avatars. After securing the Shining Trapezohedron, Nephren-Ka built a temple to house it and allow the avatar to roam free. Afterwards, the temple was used for brutal rituals and was plagued with horrifying phenomenon all of which were connected to Nephren-Ka and his worship. Eventually the Black Pharaoh was overthrown, and while his name and monuments were struck from history, the Pharaoh himself was never found. The belief of the Brotherhood was that Nephren-Ka would return with Nyarlathotep and bring about a new age for mankind.

Ami quickly shut the book as her heart began to race. "Is this the same Brotherhood?" she thought to herself. "Is the man in the cloak Nephren-Ka? And if so does that mean-" Ami suddenly fell to the floor, trembling in fear at the thought that had entered her mind. "No, it can't…it couldn't be…could it?" she thought, trying to deny it, but she couldn't shake the feeling. It was all too insane for her to accept, a pharaoh thousands of years old sending her books seemed unlikely, but with everything she had dealt with throughout her life, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. But why would he be sending her these books? And if he was running the Brotherhood, what goal was he working towards and what did it have to do with her? These questions haunted and terrified Ami until she fell unconscious from the stress.

* * *

Ami groaned as she woke, finding her mother standing over her with a worried look on her face. "Ami? Are you alright?" she asked as she knelt next to her and sat her up.

"I'm fine, mom," Ami said as she groaned and rubbed her head.

"Are you sure? I could make an appointment…" her mother offered.

She stood up and shook her head. "No, I'm fine," she reiterated before taking the book and heading to her room, leaving her mother standing there and looking worried. Ami placed the book on her desk before sitting down and rubbing her eyes, trying to remember what happened last night and shuttering once she did.

She reviewed the same thought from before, but then shook as new, more disturbing thought crept into her mind. She had never read the language this new book was in nor had she ever seen it before today. The only thing that had happened between today and yesterday that could explain it was the man in her dream. This thought caused Ami's heart to start racing as the idea of learning a language completely unknown to her through her dream meant that someone or something had invaded her mind and implanted it. Ami curled up and clutched her head, not wanting to believe it, but in her terrified state it seemed like the only logical explanation.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door and she jumped. "Ami, your friend is on the phone," her mother's voice said.

"A-Alright, I'm coming," she replied before heading to her door and opening it up. Outside of her room, she found the hallway and her front room were the same strange angles as the empty room in her dream, Ami's heart pounded as she slowly made her way through the hall and towards the phone. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and she screamed and closed her eyes before opening them to see it was only her mother and that everything was normal.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Ami's mother asked with a very concerned look, but Ami nodded.

"Y-Yes I'm fine," she said before she picked up the phone and found Makoto's voice on the other end.

"Hey Ami, it's Makoto, we're going to go meet up at Usagi's house before we head over to Hikawa Shrine and talk to Rei," she said with a hint of regret in her voice.

"Alright, I'll meet up with you guys once I have some breakfast and organize myself," Ami replied before hanging up.

Ami's mother put her coat on as Ami headed to the kitchen. "I made you some pancakes, and I left the usual dinner in the fridge," she said before heading out. Ami nodded and went into the kitchen, picking up the pancakes and some syrup and sitting at the table near the TV to eat. As she ate, she turned on the news.

"In the news today, construction for the amphitheater in Yoyogi Park is half-way completed with construction going far ahead of schedule. This amphitheater, which is funded by the rapidly growing Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh, has drawn some scorn from those who want the park's natural beauty to be preserved, but the Brotherhood, along with some notable politicians, insist that this is only temporary and that it will be moved once its first show is complete. Construction is said to be completed within the week and that it will be just in time for its first show. The show in question is a lost opera called _Massa di Requiem per Shuggay_ or, as it is translated, _Requiem for Shaggai_ which was found by the Brotherhood and is the reason for the amphitheater's construction. The Brotherhood has specified that they must perform the opera outside and have decided to perform it as a show of good faith to its opponents, although, due to its apparently complex nature, the Brotherhood has stated they can only do one show."

Ami trembled a little as she turned off the TV, wondering what the Brotherhood could possibly be up to with the opera and what significance it had. Quickly, she finished her breakfast and showered before dressing, wanting to get to her friends as fast as possible so that she could inform them about the Brotherhood's activities and their connection to Nephren-Ka. Once dressed, she picked up the black book and put it in her bag before rushing out the door and out of her condo, unaware that she was in fact being watched once more.

It did not take Ami long to arrive at Usagi's house; Makoto, Minako, and Usagi were already waiting outside for her. Usagi and Minako were talking to each other about casual topics while Makoto seemed to be staring off into the distance, looking a little regretful about the argument with Rei. Ami smiled as she arrived. "Hey guys, you ready to go?" she asked, trying to seem cheerful to at least lighten the mood a bit before Usagi and Minako turned to her and smiled a little before nodding.

"I guess…" Makoto responded in a mournful tone.

"Cheer up Makoto; I'm sure Rei feels just as bad for yelling at us." Minako said, putting her arm over Makoto's shoulder.

"You think so?" Makoto replied before giving a smile that only masked her persisting guilt.

"Yep!" Minako said with confidence before they all began making their way to the shrine.

Upon arriving at Hikawa Shrine, they discovered the police interviewing Rei's grandfather and the shrine closed off with part of the sidewalk and the steps leading up to the shrine covered in a greenish-yellow slime. All four of them stood there, stunned at the sight and the feeling of dread looming over them before they quickly rushed over to Rei's grandfather and the police.

"What happened here?" Makoto shouted in a worried tone as both Rei's grandfather and the police officer looked to her, Rei's grandfather showing a very worried expression.

"I'm afraid Rei's gone missing…I arrived and found the main temple's doors smashed open and Rei gone…" he said as the officer nodded.

"Did you see who or what did it?" Minako asked while the others caught up to Makoto.

Rei's grandfather shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I was away from the shrine at the time, so I didn't see or hear anything," he said as he looked down.

"We suspect it might've been a youma attack, but we aren't entirely sure. Our first priority is to find your friend," the officer told them while they stood there and looked over the scene sorrowfully.

While gazing at the scene, Ami in particular felt rather uneasy about it. Everyone else was fearful that Rei might be hurt or worse, but besides that, Ami couldn't help but feel someone was watching them and the scene from afar with some alien sense of self-admiration. Ami started looking around at the buildings nearby and saw what she thought was a crustacean-like figure atop one of them causing a chill to run down her spine. She rubbed her eyes to make sure it was real, but when she looked again there were two. She looked to another building and saw another and when she looked back at the previous building, there were three. The more she looked around, the more she saw all perched atop the buildings, watching the shrine but also watching her like vultures waiting for a wounded animal to die. Ami's heart throbbed in her chest and her body shook as she saw all the Mi-Go staring at her waiting to strike. She closed her eyes and clutched her head; she could feel a scream building

"Ami, are you ok?" Minako asked as she noticed Ami's plight, and when Ami opened her eyes, she saw that all the Mi-Go were gone.

Ami nodded. "Y-Yeah I'm fine" she replied, not wanting to trouble her already worried friends.

"Are you sure? You look pale…" Minako said, looking just as worried as Ami's mother.

Ami looked at her hands and saw that she was indeed pale, so she faked a few hacking coughs. "I…no. I think I might have a cold or flu or something," she said while faking another few coughs.

"Do you want to go home and rest?" Minako offered, but Ami shook her head.

"No, I'm fine for now," she said. Minako still looked worried, but also slightly relieved.

After giving their information on Rei and where and how to contact them, they headed off to the university to find Setsuna, hoping to find some answers. On their way, Ami spoke up. "Hey guys, there's something I need to tell you about the Brotherhood…" she said before everyone stopped and looked at her with interest and worry. Ami took out the black book and flipped to the page about the Brotherhood as everyone gathered around her. "You see, I found this book that says the Brotherhood worships Nephren-Ka, a pharaoh who committed such atrocities in the name of his dark god, Nyarlathotep, that he was struck from history. He vanished mysteriously after his fall from power and I think he might be the cult leader…" she explained while everyone else listened intently. Though they seemed confused by the language of the book, they assumed Ami already knew how to read it.

Makoto nodded. "I see, so you think that the cult leader is Nephren-Ka who's come back to worship his dark god who probably gave him the immortality he needed to live this long?" she asked, Ami nodding. "Where did you find this book?" Minako asked "I…found it in a box in an alleyway," Ami lied, despite the fact she'd normally never lie to her friends, but a mysterious feeling within her made her feel as if she shouldn't or couldn't tell them who she suspected was sending her the books.

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" Usagi asked as everyone looked at Ami with slight suspicion.

"Well, I wanted to wait until we apologized and made up with Rei, but now since we can't…" Ami trailed off and looked down along with everyone else.

They stared at the ground for several seconds until Makoto looked up. "Come on everyone, we can't stand around and mourn any longer, we need to take action! We need to go find Setsuna and then find out where Rei is, then we can use our powers to take down Nephren-Ka and his dark god!" she proclaimed with confidence as everyone looked up and agreed, Makoto's words breathing confidence into them as they ran off to the university.

* * *

"I'm sorry. I'm not finding a Setsuna Meioh in our database," the secretary said to the four girls whose expressions were slowly turning melancholy.

"Are you sure? She's been enrolled here for at least two years," Minako said with concern, the others sharing her sinking feeling.

The secretary shook her head as she searched through the database and records again. "Sorry, it seems there has never been a Setsuna Meioh, here or anywhere," she said, the words sending a chill of fear and despair down their spines.

Ami nodded sorrowfully. "Alright, thank you for your time," she said before they left, trying to process what they just heard.

It took them at least three hours before they arrived back at Usagi's house and sat down in her room once more, the words of the secretary still rattling around in their minds as they tried to understand what was going on. "How…can this be? First Chibiusa, then Rei and now Setsuna…what's going on?" Usagi asked, tears starting to stream down her eyes face while everyone barely managed to hold back their own tears. They were all sad and confused; feeling helpless in the face of whatever had stolen their friends away. They sat there for ten minutes while Minako comforted Usagi. Eventually, someone spoke up.

"We have to find Rei," Makoto said in a very serious tone.

"But…we don't know where she could be…" Usagi replied through her tears before Makoto slammed her fist against the wall.

"That doesn't matter; we still have to find her! We need to save her from whatever's taken her! We need to do everything we can to find her!" she shouted while tears streamed down from her eyes.

Ami looked up "Makoto…" she trailed off as she was interrupted.

"No! I don't want to hear any pessimism, we are finding Rei!" Makoto shouted.

Everyone nodded, but noticed it was getting late. "H-How about we look tomorrow after school?" Minako suggested, Makoto and the others nodding in agreement as Makoto seemed to calm down. Eventually, everyone went their separate ways and went home.

* * *

Ami walked home as the sun set behind her, night rapidly approaching while her heart began to pick up in pace and her mind continued to think about what had happened today. Chibiusa and Setsuna's disappearance along with Rei's apparent kidnapping were happening in too short of a time to be coincidence; more than likely, someone was pulling the strings. These thoughts bounced around in Ami's mind as the sky began to darken. She suddenly stopped when she heard what sounded like several footsteps somewhere nearby, she couldn't quite pin where they were coming from and she felt as if something was gazing at her with alien intent just like the last few times. Before she even had time to think, Ami was already running as fast as her legs would carry her while her heart pounded in her chest. She could barely hear the footsteps in the distance over the sound of her own feet hitting the ground and her heart throbbing. Ami didn't know how long she had been running, but by the time she reached the entrance of her condo, she was exhausted. She took one brief look back and saw a tall crustacean-like figure in the distance which caused her to scream and run inside.

Ami panted once she made her way into her home and into her room. She threw the black book onto her bed and lay down, gaining back her energy as adrenaline still flowed through her veins. Once her strength returned, she got up and shut her curtains before locking her room's door, fearing that whatever followed her outside might've followed her in. She then sat down and began reading _Unaussprechlichen Kulten_, hoping it would give her a bit more insight as to what might be happening.

The book was a chronicle of von Junzt's journey and research into various cults across the globe and the gods they worshipped. Some of note were the various colonies of Deep Ones- fish-like people who worshipped Cthulhu and were ruled by the largest of their kin, Mother Hydra and Father Dagon. The Deep Ones, it seemed, made regular human sacrifices to Dagon and would trade food and gold with humans in turn for allowing them to interbreed. The description of this not only brought on the usual headaches and dizziness, but also sickened Ami with the thought of ever having to breed with such a hideous creature. Another cult of note were the cannibalistic Tcho-Tcho people who used to live in southeast Asia but later migrated to Tibet, they were (or possibly are still) devout worshippers of the Great Old Ones and were created when humans interbred with the Miri Nigri who were servants of the Elephant God, Chaugnar Faugn.

In the last few chapters, Ami read more of the history of Ancient Earth as gathered together by von Junzt. Besides what she already learned in the _Pnakotic Manuscripts_,she learned that long ago there was some conflict between the Great Old Ones and some other entity or party that von Junzt was unable to figure out and, afterwards, the Great Old Ones were sealed away. Some were imprisoned beneath the Earth's waves or its crust, such as Cthulhu in the sunken city of R'lyeh, or Ghatanothoa, who was trapped within Mount Yaddith-Gho on the lost continent of Mu. Others were exiled outside of time and space such as Yog-Sothoth, the All-in-One, and Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young.

This new information both fascinated and terrified Ami; to know that such horrible beings were here on Earth and whose power dwarfed most of her previous adversaries was almost too frightful to think about. As she read on, another chill ran down her spine when she saw the name Azathoth once more. Upon quickly reading it, all she managed to get were vague guesses as to what he was, but from what von Junzt could tell, Azathoth lies at the center of the Universe which is known as the Center of Ultimate Chaos, where his servants dance around his court while others beat drums and pipe monotonous tunes. Ami slammed the book shut and shook violently; it was almost a perfect description of her first two dreams, which meant that she was face-to-face with the Daemon Sultan himself and he wanted something.

Ami sat there for at least two hours, her body still wracked with fright as she processed the information and the possibilities it held. She thought about how the cult was worshipping the Great Old Ones, or at the very least Azathoth, and must want to release them. But how would they accomplish this? How were they connected with the Mi-Go? And what did this have to do with Rei, Chibiusa, and Setsuna? The answers within the book had only raised further questions that haunted her until she went to bed.

* * *

Ami found herself in the strangely angulated room once more and turned to see the Faceless Man once more. Her heart raced and her body shook as she turned to run away, only to be confronted with him. She gasped and turned in another direction, only to face him again. "Wh-Who are you?" she asked, her voice filled with fear.

"I am the World's Savior, the Will of the Outer Gods, the Crawling Chaos," the legion-esque voice replied in an almost triumphant tone before raising its hand, which was surrounded by the spinning, glowing symbols again. Ami backed away a little, but simply fell and closed her eyes before it touched her forehead and she screamed before everything flashed white.

Ami shook as her eyes shot open, her heart racing as she sat up in her bed and held herself while wondering when these nightmares would end. She looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:44 AM before she stood up and walked out of her room, hearing something hit her front door again. She then walked up to the door and was about to turn the handle when she stopped herself. She knew it was another book from Nephren-Ka and that they must be doing something to deteriorate her mind. She wanted to turn away and leave it there, but something inside her- whether it was curiosity or something else- compelled her to want to open the door and read its contents in order to gain more of its forbidden knowledge. It didn't take long for this side to win out as she opened the door and took in the box.

Sitting at the table and turning on the light, she quickly set the heavy box on the table and opened it, revealing the large brown tome within. Upon taking it out and examining it closely, she saw that it was much older than _Unaussprechlichen Kulten _and twice as thick, almost thicker than a dictionary and a phonebook combined. The imprinted title of the book was _The Book of Eibon_ and, once she opened and skimmed it a little, she saw that she could also read this one easily, but then shivered as she closed it and read the title again which was actually _Libor Ivonis _and when she went back to skim again, she realized the book was in a strange language that looked like English but was something else entirely.

Ami took a deep breath and decided to read the introduction before going back to bed. The introduction was written by a man named Cryon of Varaad, the apprentice of a legendary wizard known as Eibon of Mhu-Thulan, whom the book was written by and whose life story, among other things, are was chronicled within it with the book itself being a collection of Eibon's notes, diaries and correspondence. Eibon and Cryon seem to come from a place known as Hyperborea, which Ami recalled never hearing of, and lived in Eibon's large tower which he used to observe Hyperborea and perform his magic. The book itself contained many spells that Eibon used and information and rites to various gods, particularly Eibon's patron deity, Zhothaqquah.

Ami sat back and pondered for a moment, a chill running down her spine while her heart beat with excitement. If the introduction was to be believed, this book contained all manner of spells from a very powerful wizard which she herself could potentially use. And yet she feared what the book might bring; she was afraid that the spells may harm her or her friends or worse yet, drive her over the edge. Ami shut the book and carried it to her room, setting it on her desk before going to bed and drifting off to sleep with her mind in a confused state of excitement and fear.

* * *

Ami woke up the next day feeling better than the past few nights; she thought she might be getting used to the nightly disturbances. She washed up, got dressed and made herself breakfast before she turned on the news. The news was mostly normal stuff this time, weather, traffic, etc. Apparently the strange sightings had died down a little and the police were still searching for Rei, which depressed Ami a little, but hoped that maybe they'd be able to find her. She finished her breakfast and went to school, not taking her new book with her this time as she found that it would be too heavy to carry.

At school, Ami met up with her friends, who seemed a little less depressed than when she last saw them, but were still very worried about Rei's whereabouts. The bell rang and Ami went about her day as normal until she was called down to the office along with the rest of her friends. Her classmates looked to her as she got up and left, a little scared that they might have done something bad that they had forgotten about. Once there, she found her friends sitting and waiting outside the office. "Do you guys know why we're here?" Ami asked with the same concern that was visible on her friends' faces. Usagi shook her head while Ami took a seat next to them. They sat silently, all of them deep in thought as to why they could be down here, but eventually the silence was broken when Ami was called back to the office.

Once inside the office, Ami was led to the meeting room where a police officer stood next to a detective who was sitting at the table. Ami's heart started to pound in her chest as the presence of the officer only increased her anxiety while she took a seat opposite the detective. The detective was a tall, slightly pudgy man with some sparse facial hair and wearing a nice suit, while the officer seemed a little on the young side and wearing the standard uniform.

"Wh-Why am I here?" Ami asked nervously as the detective looked at her with the eyes of a man who was about deliver some terrible news.

"We found your friend, Rei Hino, early this morning... She's dead," he said in a melancholy tone, Ami's eyes widening as she almost felt her heart stop at that moment.

She covered her face with her hands and started crying; one of her best friends was gone and she died hating them. The detective sat there in silence while the officer gave her some tissues which she used to dry her tears.

After nearly two minutes of crying, the detective spoke up. "I know this must be very hard for you, but we'd like to ask you a few questions…" he said as Ami looked down.

"How?" she asked in a mixture of anger and sadness.

"Excuse me?" the detective asked before Ami looked up.

"How did she die?" she asked, her legs trembling.

The detective cleared his throat. "Well, you see, we found her body in an alleyway several yards from the shrine, she was covered in the same slime as the stuff that covered the shrine and her head was…missing" he said awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable with describing it.

"Missing? What do you mean?" Ami asked as she felt herself choking up and bringing on another crying session.

"It was…torn off and we couldn't find it anywhere," the detective said, causing Ami to burst into tears once again.

After another few minutes of crying, the detective cleared his throat again. "I am deeply sorry for your loss, but I need to ask you if can help us find any leads on who or what killed your friend," he said as Ami sniffled and nodded.

"Alright, what do you want to know?" she asked.

"Did Rei have any enemies? Anyone who might want to hurt her? Have you seen any youma lately?" the detective fired off while Ami thought for a moment.

She shook her head. "No, most people liked Rei, and I haven't heard or seen any youma or anything relating to them…" Ami gasped. "But she did protest the Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh. Do you think they might've killed her in order to silence her?" Ami asked, but as soon as she did both the detective and the officer's eyes became hollow and distant.

"No. There. Is. No. Way. The. Brotherhood. Of. The. Black. Pharaoh. Could. Be. Involved. In. This. Case," the detective said in a monotone voice, almost like he was reading from a script.

Ami's eyes widened as she gasped and moved back in her chair, her heart pounding in her chest as she saw the men's minds temporarily lose control before returning, the detective looking confused.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, but Ami shook her head.

"No…nothing," she said before sitting up.

"Well, can you give us anything else to go on?" he asked, but Ami shook her head again and the detective dismissed her. Ami returned and sat next to her friends, staying very quiet as her friends were called back.

After at least an hour of interviews, they regrouped and looked at each other with the same scared and confused look before heading back to class. The eventually met up after school where they all looked at each other silently, wondering who was going to break the tension. Makoto did so by slamming her fist against the wall.

"Goddamn them!" she shouted as tears started to form over her eyes. They all looked to her.

"Who are you talking about?" Minako asked in a mousey voice, though she already knew the answer.

"That cult! The Brotherhood! They're the ones behind Rei's death! They murdered her because they knew she was right! They have to pay for what they did! We have to destroy them!" Makoto exclaimed, tears running down her cheeks as everyone else nodded.

"What should we do?" Usagi asked before Makoto looked to her.

"Transform," she said plainly.

* * *

After school, they made their way to the church where the Brotherhood was hiding. They used their powers to transform into their Senshi forms in an alley near the church before they ran up to the front doors and kicked them open, Makoto leading the charge.

"Alright you bastards whe-" she was about to shout but the church was empty. They all started looking around.

"Where is everyone?" Minako asked.

"I don't know…" Ami said before seeing a door behind the podium and stage. "Hey guys, I found a door," Ami called to the others as they gathered around and slowly opened it. Inside was a torch-lit stairway which seemed to lead down into a cavernous cell. They could all hear faint whispering echoing from its depths. They all visibly shook at the eerie noise, but Makoto continued forward while the others followed, her determination outweighing her fear.

Slowly, they descended the dimly lit stairs, every cautious step leading them closer to the whispering, which grew louder and louder. Soon they reached the bottom of the steps where they found a large wooden door, which opened to reveal a long hall lit by candles and torches. Down the hall were rows of people in black robes all sitting next to each other on stools and reading books which were placed on slabs carved into the rocky faces of the walls.

Makoto looked around at the robed people, her mind filled with fury and a lust for vengeance, almost wanting to strike out at these people but she knew they weren't the true culprit. "Where is your leader?" she shouted as they marched down the halls, but none responded; the robed people simply ignored them and kept reading to themselves in strange tongues. They looked to each other in confusion before one of the robed people screamed and stood up, causing them to jump as he ran up to a wall and started bashing his head against it. Before they could act, however, he had already caved his skull in and dropped. Usagi screamed at the sight as the girls trembled; the robed people didn't seem to notice or care that the man had just killed himself.

Suddenly Ami screamed too as the others looked to see a strange winged crustacean-like creature emerge from a crevice in the ceiling and jump down, claiming the corpse before staring at Ami for a few seconds and flying back into the crevice.

"What was that?" Usagi asked, everyone standing still as their minds tried to process what they had just seen.

"I-I think it was…a Mi-Go," Ami said while everyone looked to her.

"A what?" Makoto asked, but before Ami could answer they heard a familiar voice.

"So, we meet again," the suave voice said.

They turned to see the Black Man standing before them, all the robed people turning and kneeling before him. His presence was strong, almost as if the fact he was near them was enough to compel them to bow before him. Due to their Senshi powers though, they were able to resist.

"You! You killed Rei didn't you? You knew she was telling the truth so you had her killed! Admit it!" Makoto shouted as she pointed at him.

The Black Man smiled as he drew back his hood, revealing that he looked like a bald African man with skin darker than the night sky. "Yes, I admit it, I killed your friend using a shoggoth and I enjoyed every moment of it," he said in a smug matter-of-fact tone.

Makoto screamed in rage "You…you….bastard!" she shouted as she attacked, the antenna on her tiara extended and a disc of pure electrical energy formed in her hand. "Sparkling Wide Pressure!" she shouted before throwing it at the Black Man.

The Black Man simply raised his hand, the disc of energy stopping as it hit before shrinking until it disappeared into nothing. The Senshi stood there, their eyes wide with shock as they watch Makoto's attack do nothing to him, his hands weren't even burned. The Black Man raised his hand. "My turn," he said before snapping his fingers. The Senshi then felt a tremendous pain in their chests as they fell to the ground, clutching the center of their chests while groaning and screaming. The Black Man drew closer as he laughed, his voice now having the air of something _wrong_, something that should not exist.

"What…did you…do to us?" Makoto asked, still recovering from the sudden pain.

"Simple, I just gave you a minor heart attack. Nothing lethal, but you won't have much strength for a bit," he explained.

Makoto growled but couldn't yet draw the strength she needed to punch him. The others were also still recovering, but at the same time they were shocked at his power.

"Who…are you? You're Nephren-Ka…right?" Ami asked weakly as the Black Man shook his head.

"Not exactly. While this body was once Nephren-Ka, after his fall I gave him my ultimate gift. I made him my avatar," he said, Ami looking astonished.

"Then who...are you?" she asked.

The Black Man chuckled again. "I am Nyarlathotep, The Crawling Chaos," he stated, the robed people cheering, "I'a! I'a Nyarlathotep!" as the Senshi looked up in dismay.

"The Crawling…Chaos?" Ami asked as her heart throbbed in her chest and her body shook, though her friends didn't notice her clutch her head, all their attention was drawn to Nyarlathotep.

"What are you doing here?" Minako asked, their strength beginning to return but it was still not enough to fight him now.

"I am here to kill you and summon my master, Azathoth, so that he and the other Great Old Ones may reclaim their domain here on Earth," he said.

Makoto gritted her teeth. "So why don't you kill us now? And why kill us anyway if you have all this power, or just carry out your plans without our knowledge?" she asked before Nyarlathotep kicked her in the stomach, causing her to fall to lie on the ground.

He put his foot on her head. "Because that would be too easy. I don't just want to kill you like that, I want to watch you suffer as slowly and painfully as possible before I give you the sweet release of death." He moved his foot side-to-side against Makoto's face. "As for why you, it's because you give people hope. When Azathoth comes and frees everyone, I don't want people to look to up to see you heroically go into battle. No, I want to see them look down in despair as their guardians fail to protect them and doom them to their fate," he said, his voice shifting more and more towards an unearthly sound.

"Azathoth? Set everyone free? What do you mean?" Usagi asked as he grinned evilly.

"Azathoth will set everyone free, body and mind. Humanity will be as it once was, wild and free. Their minds will give way to madness and set them beyond good and evil. Meanwhile, their bodies shall be granted tremendous power so as to liberate them from the constraints and laws of civilization. Eventually, everyone will kill each other and experience the total freedom that is oblivion," he said before turning and heading into a door which apparently led into his chambers.

Once inside, Makoto immediately bolted towards him with the others following right behind her. Their newfound energy came from a combination of adrenaline and a sense that they had to stop him, although Makoto was the only one able to get in before the door slammed shut. The others pounded on the door, but it was too sturdy as they listened in.

"I will defeat you," they heard Makoto say as Nyarlathotep laughed.

"Is that so? Well let's see if you can even handle a glimpse of my true form," he said before there was a tense pause and a sudden piercing shriek from Makoto.

Usagi, Minako, and Ami quickly began beating on the door with all their strength until it opened. They ran in, only to find Nyarlathotep gone and Makoto curled up shaking on the floor, her face incredibly pale and her eyes filled with unimaginable terror.

* * *

That night, after the incident, Ami, Minako, and Usagi carried Makoto to her apartment and put her to bed. She was unresponsive, but they thought that maybe she just needed to rest. The next day, Makoto did not come to school and she did not respond to any phone calls. After school they decided to investigate Makoto's condition. Upon arriving at the apartment building, the landlord, who was a tall and rather thin man, stopped them.

"You're Makoto's friends, right?" he asked in a tone that sounded concerned while also slightly annoyed

"Yes, why?" Usagi asked.

The landlord sighed. "Well, last night I got a few noise complaints from her neighbors, saying they could hear screaming coming from her apartment, and when the police and I checked it out, we found her screaming and flailing about in her bed. We tried to calm her down, but she wouldn't respond. Finally, when she stopped, we called a doctor and he said she was apparently having night terrors," he explained.

"Night terrors? But she's never had night terrors before..." Minako said as the landlord nodded.

"Well she does now, and we don't know how to stop it. I'll let you into her apartment and see if you can talk her out of it, but if you can't, I'm transferring her to a clinic," he said as they nodded and followed him up to Makoto's apartment.

Once they reached her apartment and he opened the door, they entered to find that her apartment seemed almost untouched since last night almost as if no one was even living in it. They carefully walked through her small apartment and found Makoto lying in her bed where they had left her.

"Makoto?" Usagi asked as they approached her; Makoto's face was still white as a sheet and her eyes were wide with a thousand-yard-stare. Usagi started to tear up along with Minako and Ami. "Makoto, say something" Usagi said as she got closer but Makoto was completely motionless and unresponsive. Usagi grabbed her by the shoulders. "Say something, Makoto! Say something! Anything!" Usagi cried as she shook Makoto, her tears falling onto Makoto's chest while she impotently shook the broken shell before her. Ami and Minako forced Usagi to let go, tears streaming from their eyes as well, as they pulled her back while she struggled. "Let me go! I have to wake her up!" she shouted while she squirmed.

Suddenly, Makoto sat up in her bed. "Makoto?" Usagi asked as she stopped struggling. The others watched as Makoto got out of her bed and headed to the window, opening it. "Makoto!" Usagi shouted as she, along with Ami and Minako, ran up and tried to bring Makoto back in while she tried to make her way out the window.

"I'll call the hospital!" the landlord called as he ran off while they managed to pull Makoto back in, Ami quickly closing and locking the window. Makoto began to scream and flail about like a child while her friends tearfully held her down. They cried as they held her down, memories flooding back of their once proud friend who was confident that they would beat the odds, now reduced to this; a husk who wanted nothing to do with living. It was at least half an hour before the paramedics arrived and lifted Makoto onto a stretcher before wheeling her off, leaving her friends alone in her room.

They sat there, crying and comforting each other as they wondered how or why this happened and what happened that night in the church. "What do we do? How can we stop him?" Minako asked as she cried, Usagi shaking her head.

"I don't know…I just…don't know…" she replied.

"Why don't we go home and…discuss it tomorrow?" Ami suggested as the other two looked to each other and nodded.

"Ok, I'll call you tonight Usagi," Minako said while Usagi nodded and they left. On their way out of the building, Ami looked up at the sky and noticed the gloomy grey clouds starting to form.

Once she got home, Ami sat on her bed with a box of tissues and cried, mourning the fate of her friend. As she sat there, she noticed the big brown book, _Libor Ivonis_, sitting on her desk, untouched. She had not dared touch it since the incident at the church and lately she had been having dreamless nights. But now that she saw it again, she felt a compulsion to read, yet at the same time resisted because she knew whatever was inside was probably going to drive her to the same madness that caused the man in the church to kill himself. Ami stood up and walked up to her desk before lifting the book and putting it in her closet, then shut the door on it and curled up on her bed.

* * *

A terrible thunderstorm ripped forcefully through the town that night. Minako was home alone with Artemis, her parents being stuck at work because of the storm. She was downstairs in the kitchen, on the phone with Usagi as the thunder and rain raged outside. "Yeah, maybe we should visit her tomorrow…" she said, still a little teary-eyed from crying. She jumped and screamed as a sudden, bright flash of lightning and a deafening crack of thunder caused the power to go out and the phone to go dead.

Minako sighed. "Great," she muttered as she got an old flashlight and turned it on. She began hearing some odd, faint noises coming from upstairs and went to investigate.

As she ascended the stairs, she heard what sounded like a cat struggling. "Artemis? Artemis, are you ok?" she asked, when suddenly the door to her room flung open and the broken, beaten corpse of Artemis was thrown out against the wall. "Artemis!" she shouted as she ran up to him. She shook his body. "Artemis! Artemis!" she shouted hysterically, but he would not respond. She heard a noise in her room and turned the flashlight towards it, where she saw a tall, bloated, bat-like creature with a single burning three-lobed eye and several tendrils. At that moment she screamed and her flashlight died.

"No!" she shouted as she turned and ran in the direction she thought the stairs were, remembering that she had left her wand on the counter. But as she ran, the creature flew after her with unnatural speed and caught her in little time. Minako screamed as she fell to the ground, her limbs restrained by its tendrils while the monster dragged her back to her room. She clawed at the ground while she was slowly dragged inside. She caught herself on the doorframe. "Somebody help me!" she cried before she was dragged into the darkness and her door slammed shut.


End file.
